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Thursday, February 05, 2009

Rearranging The Deck Chairs On The TitanicThis doesn't say a whole helluva lot about the former bishop

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

I've already posted what a Tower of Jello the incoming Ordinary for Detroit is. Talk about toothless dogs. Anyhow, it looks like it's time for everyone to dance to the Windbag Shuffle.

Here's some of the article from The California Catholic Daily; (emphasis mine) “A few months or as much as a year”Interim administrator for Oakland diocese once allowed homosexual marriages, built church with no crucifix or tabernacle

Now that former Oakland Bishop Allen Vigneron has been installed as Archbishop of Detroit, Fr. Dan Danielson, a priest who once allowed homosexual marriages at his parish and was instrumental in the construction of a new church in Pleasanton with no tabernacle and no crucifix, has been elected to run the diocese until a new bishop is named by the pope.

News of Fr. Danielson’s election was announced in the Feb. 3 diocesan “Administrative Weekly,” which said, “The Diocesan Consulters today announced the election of Fr. Dan Danielson to fill the role of Diocesan Administrator. The administrator leads the day-to-day activities of the Diocese until a new bishop is appointed. Fr. Danielson retired in 2007 as the pastor of the Catholic Community of Pleasanton.”

The Catholic Community of Pleasanton is comprised of St. Augustine Church and St. Elizabeth Seton Church. In 1998, then-Bishop John Cummins expressed displeasure with Fr. Danielson and ordered him to stop talking to the press after it became public knowledge that Fr. Danielson was allowing homosexual marriages at St. Elizabeth Seton. An attempted lesbian wedding on May 9, 1998 was called off when 50 Catholics came out to the partially built church in a protest that was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle and on San Francisco's Channel 7 News. At the time, Fr. Danielson bragged he would continue blessing gay unions outside of the church building.

Two years later, when St. Elizabeth Seton parish completed a 15-year-long, $5 million project to construct a new church, Fr. Danielson again came under fire. The new St. Elizabeth Seton church had no tabernacle (the tabernacle was housed in a separate building), no crucifix, no stations of the cross, and no kneelers. In addition, there were no stained glass windows or statues. Chairs were arranged in an oval, looking down on a simple wooden table that was used as the altar. The 8-foot-long, waist-deep, full immersion, baptismal bath came complete with bright blue tiles and Jacuzzi jets.

More recently, in November 2007, Fr. Danielson defended the selection of Fr. Padraig Greene to replace him as pastor at the Catholic Community of Pleasanton. Fr. Greene was arrested in 1999 for lewd behavior in a public restroom. In the online bulletin of the two-parish community, under the heading “Notes from the pastor for this week,” Fr. Danielson said that public protests outside the parish required him to reveal what Greene did in 1999. “I would not do this ordinarily any more than I would ‘out’ the sins of anyone else who had a position of leadership in this community,” said Danielson. At 2 p.m. on March 2, 1999, police arrested Greene “at a restroom next to a highway for indecent exposure,” continued Danielson. “There is a baseball field nearby. There were no children or minors involved, nor were there any nearby at the time. Only the police officer who observed this behavior and subsequently arrested him was present.” The court dismissed charges against Greene when he completed therapy. “As you can imagine,” wrote Danielson, “Fr. Padraig was and is filled with shame and great remorse over this incident.”

Fr. Greene continues to serve as “parochial administrator” of the parish.

Diocesan Consultors are appointed for a 5 year term by the Bishop (and, the CIC isn't handy for me, I think need to be on the Presbyteral Council at the time of the appointment which is at least partially voted on by the diocesan priests) and elect the diocesan administrator. It's actually the way it has been done if dioceses don't have a cathedral chapter with Canons.

Can. 419 When a see is vacant and until the designation of a diocesan administrator, the governance of a diocese devolves upon the auxiliary bishop or, if there are several, upon the one who is senior in promotion. If there is no auxiliary bishop, however, it devolves upon the college of consultors unless the Holy See has provided otherwise.

The one who so assumes governance of the diocese is to convoke without delay the college competent to designate a diocesan administrator.

Can. 420 When the see is vacant in an apostolic vicariate or prefecture, the governance is assumed by the pro-vicar or pro-prefect, appointed only for this purpose by the vicar or prefect immediately after the vicar or prefect has taken possession of the vicariate or prefecture, unless the Holy See has established otherwise.

Can. 421 §1. The college of consultors must elect a diocesan administrator, namely the one who is to govern the diocese temporarily, within eight days from receiving notice of the vacancy of an episcopal see and without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 502, §3.

§2. If a diocesan administrator has not been elected legitimately within the prescribed time for whatever cause, his designation devolves upon the metropolitan, and if the metropolitan church itself is vacant or both the metropolitan and the suffragan churches are vacant, it devolves upon the suffragan bishop senior in promotion.

Can. 422 An auxiliary bishop or, if there is none, the college of consultors is to inform the Apostolic See of the death of a bishop as soon as possible. The one elected as diocesan administrator is to do the same concerning his own election.

Can. 423 §1. One diocesan administrator is to be designated; any contrary custom is reprobated. Otherwise, the election is invalid.

§2. A diocesan administrator is not to be the finance officer at the same time. Therefore, if the Finance officer of the diocese has been elected as administrator, the Finance council is to elect a temporary Finance officer.

Can. 424 A diocesan administrator is to be elected according to the norm of ⇒ cann. 165-178.

Can. 425 §1. Only a priest who has completed thirty-Five years of age and has not already been elected, appointed, or presented for the same vacant see can be designated validly to the function of diocesan administrator.

§2. A priest who is outstanding in doctrine and prudence is to be elected as diocesan administrator.

§3. If the conditions previously mentioned in §1 have been neglected, the metropolitan or, if the metropolitan church itself is vacant, the suffragan bishop senior in promotion, after he has ascertained the truth of the matter, is to designate an administrator in his place. The acts of the one who was elected contrary to the prescripts of §1, however, are null by the law itself.

Can. 426 When a see is vacant, the person who is to govern the diocese before the designation of a diocesan administrator possesses the power which the law grants to a vicar general.

Can. 427 §1. A diocesan administrator is bound by the obligations and possesses the power of a diocesan bishop, excluding those matters which are excepted by their nature or by the law itself.

§2. When he has accepted election, the diocesan administrator obtains power and no other confirmation is required, without prejudice to the obligation mentioned in ⇒ can. 833, n. 4.

Canon - having said that they are appointed for a five year term, consider this...

Bishop Vigneron was new to Oakland just six years ago. Whereas in Detroit, he knows ALL of the players, he went to Oakland not knowing a soul, like many bishops.

You may say that he's had at least two opportunities in 6 years to appoint good priests to this board.

However, how well can a bishop really know the priests in a diocese in a year, or two years, or three for that matter?

I truly believe things will go more smoothly in Detroit, where he knows the players. He turned our seminary around when he was rector. That took guts.

Many things happen behind closed doors. I have heard the same story out of different people on specific things he did while an auxiliary bishop here. Of course those things aren't out in the public and things happened so smoothly, the average Catholic in the diocese had no clue what was going on.

However, how well can a bishop really know the priests in a diocese in a year, or two years, or three for that matter?

As a veteran of 20 fun-filled years in the Marine Corps, there were times (peacetime) when I had mere days to "know" any given Marines... and on the odd occasion (bombs bursting in air, all that jazz), I would have as little as 30 seconds to figure someone out.

I guess that was one of the fun things about The Corps. I could look at any given NCO or Staff NCO and say "I don't know you from Adam, but I know that you're a Marine Corps Coporal, (Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant, whatever) and you'll do your job to the high expectations that The Corps has always demanded of her leaders."

It really was that simple. And God help the leader who attempted to buck the Command structure. We had a phrase for those types of individuals: Lance Corporals (IE: stripped of rank and responsibility.)

If I can have that outlook as just a mere Master Sergeant of Marines responsible for mens lives, why can't a bishop have the same outlook, especially if he's responsible for mens souls?

But in all fairness, I think I've answered my own question --- The Marine Corps demanded that I be a decisive leader.